Lorn snarled, shooting his enforcer a fierce look. “Don’t encourage her.”

Kar threw up his hands and backed away, taking a seat by the desk. “Fine. I’ll be over here, being quiet. But her timing was great. You have to admit that.”

Garson chuckled. “They didn’t believe your theory about drinking blood but then boom! There was Kira. ‘Look at my once-Vampire ass and let me dig my claws into your miserable hide’.”

“Shut up,” Lorn ordered.

“Hey, you wanted us here.” Garson strode over to another chair by Kar and sat. “But sure, just pretend we aren’t in the room then.”

“Both of them have made excellent points,” Lavos added.

Lorn snarled, fixing his narrowed eyes on his brother.

“Kira did good,” Lavos continued. “Your enforcers know it. So should you. This wasn’t how we planned to break it to the clan that Kira not only survived, but has changed, and will be your future mate. But it’s done. Rumor will spread through the clan by morning and everyone will have heard. We’ve been agonizing over when to spring it on them. Problem solved. She tore up Brista a bit, showed them you were right about the blood exchanges, and Kira did have great timing. Take a deep breath and chill your ass out. We both know you’re more upset that it would have looked as though Kira were weak if you’d attacked Brista to protect her. It left you feeling helpless, and you suck at that.”

“She could have been hurt.” Lorn wasn’t about to forget that anytime soon.

“I know how to fight.” Kira drew his attention. “Trust me, Veso kicked my ass often. Now I have the strength and speed to actually avoid taking hits, while inflicting damage. I was never in real danger. Brista is too damn lazy to train or spar with anyone. Her charges are too small to be a threat to that bitch.”

Lorn approached Kira and pulled her into his arms. “Don’t fight again. I forbid it.”

“I’m going to be your mate,” she reminded him. “That means I’ll officially have to handle the women when there’s trouble. It’s what’s expected.”

“Not by me.”

She hugged him around his middle. “I’ll spar with you until you stop worrying so much. I’m pretty tough, Lorn. I got the new kickass bod.”

He rested his chin on top of her head. “What am I going to do with you?”

“Not much,” Davis muttered. “I’m standing right here.”

He lifted his gaze and stared at Davis.

“What? She’s my baby girl and you’re holding her way too close for a male who isn’t her mate yet, in front of her father.”

Lorn didn’t let her go. “I need to ask you something. What did you have on Decker when you brought Kira here, when she was an infant?”

Kira eased her hold around his waist and tried to turn around. Lorn let her but kept her close, refusing to let her totally out of his embrace. He’d been terrified when she’d challenged Brista and fought.

“What do you mean?”

“Come on, Dad. Fess up. I’m curious myself.”

Davis sighed. “You’re not going to like it.”

“I don’t like anything about Decker.” Lorn shrugged. “How bad could it be?”

“Are you going to mate my daughter when the time is right?”

“Yes. She’s my true mate.” Lorn knew that was answer enough.

“I didn’t plan to come back to the clan after I met Kira’s mother. I knew Decker would never allow a VampLycan to mate a human. Part of me expected him to send Boon after me. He’s his favorite to track down and take out threats. I tried to get lost in the human world, and bought a small property so my mate and child would be safe. There was a dispute with the neighbor when I wanted to put up security fences. I had to learn a lot about land surveys to get that damn thing built. He said part of the property actually belonged to him. I was right and he was wrong.”

“What does this have to do with Decker?” Lorn asked.

“It got me thinking.” Davis walked over to the wall where a large map hung. “All the families had applied for the Homestead Act and I wondered which part of our territory legally belonged to me. We lost track of all that stuff over the years. It was just our combined territory, only divided on paperwork for the humans. I did a little research.”

Lorn glanced at Lavos. His brother frowned.

“It turns out I got lucky.” Davis lifted his finger and ran it along a part of the map, drawing a pattern. “This is mine.”

Lorn’s mouth fell open.

Davis nodded and dropped his hand to his side. “The lodge, the gas station and store, the auto shop, and hell, Decker’s home is on land I officially own. It was my ace in the hole to keep my family safe if anyone ever came after us. I got copies of everything so they couldn’t just wipe it away, and then when Kira’s mother was killed, I knew I had to come home to keep her safe from humans discovering what we were. I couldn’t trust anyone to care for her while I worked. I was afraid to ask the other clans to let me join them, since I had no idea if they’d accept me with a human-smelling baby. I had two counts against me already. I was one of Decker’s people and unsure of how they’d take the news that I’d mated a human.”

“Son of a bitch,” Lorn rasped.

“I told Decker that if anything happened to Kira, an already-signed deed would be sent to the biggest lumber corporation in Alaska as a gift. They’d own the town. He couldn’t wipe all their minds or make everyone disappear. I told him I’d made friends when I’d lived in the human world, ones I trusted, and that they had copies of the deed and my proof of ownership. I made it clear that if I didn’t contact that person regularly, the originals would be sent.”

“Is it true?”

Davis shook his head. “I never met anyone I could trust that much. Greed would have been a problem, since the land is worth money. A human could have sold it to anyone looking for a readymade small town. I buried the deed under the lodge. I figured that was the last place Decker would look—right under his damn nose. This was his crowning jewel of our territory.” Davis glanced around the office, then back at Lorn. “It kept my girl alive. He made me miserable, but he didn’t dare kill her.”